How to run your own RCT
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Early Years Toolkit
Applying behavioural insights to childcare take-up
The EAST™ framework
Make it Easy
Make it Attractive
Make it Social
Make it Timely
A background to behavioural insights
Why experiment?
How to run your own RCT
Data protection and ethics
Step one: decide what outcome measure you are going to use
Step two: make sure your experiment has statistical power
Step three: randomise your participants
Step four: implement the new process for the intervention group
Step five: clean and merge your data
Step six: understand how to analyse your results
Step seven: apply your results and scale
Once you have identified a policy you want to test and decided who you want to test it with, there are 7 main steps to running a trial. This section goes through each of these steps in turn. Download the accompanying resources and work through them as you go.
- Step 1: decide what outcome measure you are going to use
- Step 2: make sure your experiment has statistical power
- Step 3: randomise your participants
- Step 4: implement the new process for the intervention group
- Step 5: clean and merge your data
- Step 6: understand how to analyse your results
- Step 7: apply your results and scale
Resources to run your own RCT
- Randomisation guides (Excel randomisation guide, Word randomisation guide)
- Data cleaning and merging guides (Excel data guide, Word data guide)
- Analysis guides (Excel analysis guide, Word analysis guide)
![](https://media.nesta.org.uk/images/Nesta_Early_Years_Toolkit_Graphic_V28.width-1200.png)
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Authors
![Louise Bazalgette](https://media.nesta.org.uk/images/P1001446.2e16d0ba.fill-112x112.jpg)
Louise Bazalgette
Louise Bazalgette
Deputy Director, fairer start mission
Louise works as part of a multi-disciplinary innovation team focused on narrowing the outcome gap for disadvantaged children.
View profile![Dave Wilson](https://media.nesta.org.uk/images/Dave_FCefLDg.2e16d0ba.fill-112x112.jpg)
Dave Wilson
Dave Wilson
Advisor
Dave is an Advisor in the Education team at the Behavioural Insights Team (BIT) with a focus on early years projects.
View profile![Fionnuala O’Reilly](https://media.nesta.org.uk/images/Fionnuala.2e16d0ba.fill-112x112.jpg)
Fionnuala O’Reilly
Fionnuala O’Reilly
Lead Behavioural Scientist, fairer start mission
Fionnuala was the lead behavioural scientist in the fairer start mission, seconded from the Behavioural Insights Team (BIT).
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